11/27/03

Faith of the Heart

Some may say, "He is a Trekker. That explains it all." Others might say, "He's a Sci-Fi nut and this is the theme to one of those shows he watches." And yet others would say, "It's just Rich. You can never explain what he does."

Well, I actually thought that I might take the time to let all who are interested in on why I wanted to use this song as a sort of theme song for our web site.

For those of you who know us, this year has been eventful to say the least. After the events of 9-11, the Lord has been working in my heart to tell me something and I have been doing my best to listen. Sometimes it is hard with all the "noise" of everyday living, but in those quiet times that I do have, the Lord is really touching my heart. He has shown our family many kindnesses this year, such as providing this house that I am sitting in right now (that is a whole story unto itself) to helping us through some difficult times at my workplace. For all these, we are extremely thankful. He has helped us all to grow closer to Him and be more mindful of the blessings that He bestows on us each moment of the day.

Through all of this, I am reminded of Paul's words to the Philippians in the New Testament book of the same name, Chapter 4, starting with verse 1. Pay special attention to verses 4 through 19. God provides for each and every one of His children for the needs that even they don't know they have. He does that through friends, family, and even strangers whom you would have no idea knew of your need. For each of you out there who have blessed us, we are thankful and we ask God's blessing on you in return. In all this God calls for us to rejoice, for as verse 13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I think our family is really learning that lesson this Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of God's own Son and what He came here to do for each and every one of us. (To learn more about the greatest Christmas gift ever given, take a look at the Gospel section of our website.) God has proven His loving care more times than I can count, and yet this is not the end of His capacity to bless.

Now, why the song playing on the home page of our web site? Well, if you read the lyrics to "Faith of the Heart" (AKA "Where My Heart Will Take Me"), you will notice that the songwriter speaks of traveling a long road from dark to light, and mentions "faith of the heart" and "strength of the soul". Where do these come from? Not from some trendy success course, or some psycho-babble, but straight from my Creator, through His Son, my Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is truly a never ending fount of blessing that no one can hope to out give.

Every time I hear this song, it reminds me of Philippians 4 and, more importantly, the things that I can do when I place my trust in God.

If you do not know my Lord and Saviour as I do, I urge you to visit the Gospel section of our web site and to truly seek the gift described there. If you have questions, please seek the counsel of a Godly man at a local, Bible-believing church. If you do not know of one in your area, send me an email with your question to rpearl2@rochester.rr.com and I will do my best to answer it for you.

For now, I will sign off, but please take this time to contemplate everything that God has given to and for you.